Videogames

The coming year will officially be kicking off in style, with PlayStation Vita owners in the United States getting a January 8, 2013 treat in the form of Earth Defence Force 2017 Portable. The enhanced port of the Xbox 360 game from 2006 was released in Japan in September 2012, and it's great to see that a localized version was turned around so quickly. Hopefully that'll make for some unintentionally HILARIOUS on-screen text.

When it comes to action games involving big guns fired at bigger alien insects and robots, there's no better example than EDF. It's an interactive guilty pleasure that you don't have to feel guilty about. Why? BECAUSE IT'S STARSHIP TROOPERS: THE GAME. The Vita port adds a few bonuses including series favorite flyer Pale Wing, new enemies, an assortment of new weapons (the list is 230 strong), and online multiplayer for four players in co-op and adversarial modes.

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Gary Schyman, the man behind the music of BioShock and BioShock 2, is returning once again to work with Ken Levine and the Irrational Games team on scoring BioShock Infinite. The news is confirmed in an official announcement from Levine that came at the start of his appearance for yesterday's Reddit AMA session.

“His score is very different from the first two games, yet very much guided by the same aesthetic principles," Levine said of Schyman's current work. "We were lucky to have him and I can't wait until you get to hear some of his stuff. He's working in a different, sparer style, but it's awesome.”

You can hear some of that style right now in a newly released excerpt from BioShock Infinite's soundtrack, the full version of which is a packed-in exclusive included with the Premium and Ultimate Songbird versions of the game.

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The upcoming Star Trek game from Namco Bandai is now officially set by the publisher and partner Paramount Pictures for release on April 23, 2013. The game's story serves as a bridge between the events of the 2009 blockbuster Star Trek and its 2013 follow-up, Star Trek Into Darkness.

The release announcement also reveals a pre-order bonus in the form of the "Elite Office Pack," offering "exclusive items and unique uniforms" for Kirk and Spock, the two stars of this co-op-enabled game. The pre-order bonus comes with five separate costume packs that let you outfit Kirk and Spock in a variety of themed duds.

In an unfortunate though not entirely unexpected move, THQ announced yesterday that it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The company has been the victim of numerous financial hardships over the past 12 months and the bankruptcy filing positions it for rehabilitation. Investment group Clearlake Capital will acquire the business and most of its assets for $60 million.

THQ president Jason Rubin is projecting an upbeat attitude about the new development, describing it in a statement as "a new start for our company." Indeed, chapter 11 bankruptcy is meant to be a corrective measure. We'll have to wait and see how things go for THQ, but the forecast isn't quite as gloomy as the word "bankrupt" might suggest.

Populous will live on; Peter Molyneux's Project GODUS is officially a successfully funded Kickstarter project. The game currently has £478,916 pledged, surpassing the £450,000 goal, with 26 hours to go at the time of this writing. The total will likely be even higher by the time this news publishes, so check out the source for the most up-to-date figures.

With the funding goal now achieved, a number of stretch goals have been added. The first two are already nailed down at the time of this writing, and the third -- which would bring in the BAFTA award winning writer James Leach to write the story -- is definitely in reach. The top-level stretch goal, at £550,000, would add Linux and Ouya versions to the list of supported platforms (currently PC/Mac, iOS, Android).

The Kickstarter page lists a September 2013 release as the target, though the feature additions that stretch goals bring about have a tendency to delay things. Let's also not forget that this is a Peter Molyneux production. The brilliant gamesmith is full of big ideas, but can he turn those ideas into a reality in a timely fashion? We'll have to wait and see.

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The Aftermath DLC is now live and available on all platforms for Battlefield 3 players, which means that the fifth and final pack -- End Game -- is going to be here soon as well. Electronic Arts and DICE share the first official details in a newly updated product page on Battlefield.com.

End Game adds four new multiplayer maps "designed for high speed combat and action" to the game, along with three new vehicles (dirt bikes and lightweight anti-air vehicles are mentioned), a new dropship "with vehicle drop capabilities," and the return of the Capture the Flag game mode.

There isn't a specific release date confirmed yet for End Game, but expect it to arrive sometime in March 2013.

Square Enix continues to milk the Final Fantasy 13 setting for all it is worth, with the recently confirmed Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy 13 now on display in a new trailer. The minute-and-a-half long clip is a mixture of CG and gameplay and hey, whaddya know-- it looks like Final Fantasy!

According to Eurogamer, the trailer surfaced early today before being pulled, only to surface once again a short time later. Let's all take a moment to thank the Internet for being the Internet. The gameplay shows off a little bit of combat and town exploration as well as... wait. Is that some light platforming?

Looks neat. And very Final Fantasy. We'll likely be hearing more soon, as Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy 13 launches in 2013.

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Hey, look at that: rumors of a Borderlands 2 DLC pack titled Sir Hammerlock's Big Game Hunt are true. 2K Games and Gearbox Software confirmed the news this morning in a media blast and 2K blog post, confirming that the third DLC pack for September 2012's fan-favorite looter shooter will be coming on January 15, 2013.

Like the previous two DLC releases, Hammerlock will cost $9.99 (800 MS Points) on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC platforms. Players will be sent off to explore the Pandoran continent of Aegrus on a hunting trip. A new villain and self-proclaimed Handsome Jack superfan presents himself shortly after you arrive and it's not long before you're taking on an assortment of new baddies in an effort to stop him.

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ZombiU, the exclusive Wii U first person survival horror game hardcore Wii U gamers were looking forward to, was released in late November. During our hectic holiday schedule someone (definitely not me) forgot to promote our review here on The Feed. When my editor asked me where the ZombiU review pimp post was I said "a dog ate it... a zombi dog!" Hilarious right?

Anywho, if you're been wondering if ZombiU will make a great stocking stuffer this year, check out this snippet from our review:

"Your go-to melee weapon is the setting-appropriate English cricket bat, which while durable, isn't the easiest weapon to wield, and is one of the reasons I relied more on the limited firearms or in some sections just avoided zombies altogether. Moving around worked well enough, though the same can't be said for object interaction. Whether it's going through doors or looting the undead, it can be a challenge precisely centering your camera for the needed button prompt to appear."

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The Albert Hughes-directed web series, The 7 Wonders of Crysis 3, continues today with its second episode, The Hunt. The focus in this gameplay clip is primarily on the 2013 game's bow and arrow weapon, used here to hunt a pack of Ceph aliens.

There's a little light machine gun action and a large set of explosions as well, just to ensure that you don't start to think that Crysis 3 doesn't also bring in some heavy firepower. As the title suggests, however, this second episode is all about the hunt. Also, it's about showing off more of those slick, slick graphics.

After a nine year series hiatus, actor, Vin Diesel finally has an official date to announce for his return as the intergalactic convict-turned-space-savior named Riddick.

According to the star himself, September 6, 2013 will be the date that the long-awaited third film in the series, simply titled Riddick will make its way to theaters -- in IMAX, no less.

For Diesel, it's been a long road to get this project moving. However, it was a process where he and the creative forces used the outlet of social media to garner fan input. As a result, the announcement of the release date for the now-completed film seemed to be an emotional one for the star.

Find out what he has to say below and check out a brand new photo from the set.

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FUSE, Insomniac Games' upcoming 4 player co-op game, has a new trailer "The Dalton Rules" which lays out the 3 rules Dalton, a snarky, energy shield equipped, Overstrike agent lives by. It looks like someone breaks one (or more) of Dalton's rules in this trailer so I can't imagine he's very happy about that.

Check out the latest FUSE trailer and see if you've broken any of Dalton's rules today:

Dave Lebling and Marc Blank co-founder Infocom back in the 1980s, introducing the PC gaming world to classic text adventures like Zork, A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and Planetfall. In February 2013, Lebling and Blank will be presented with the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences Pioneer Award at the annual D.I.C.E. Awards in Las Vegas, NV.

The D.I.C.E. Summit -- short for Design, Innovate, Communicate, Entertain -- is a yearly developer-focused gathering that focuses on game design and production. It's smaller than E3 and not nearly as product-driven, with the primary goal being to bring creatives together to discuss their craft. The event will conclude with the D.I.C.E. Awards as Lebling and Blank follow previous Pioneer Award winners like Pitfall! creator David Crane and Asteroids designer Ed Logg.

If you'd like to hear more from Lebling and Blank on Infocom and the Pioneer Award news, give this Wired article a look. Infocom fans especially should spend some time playing around with the uniquely presented interview.

The Wii U's TVii app didn't quite make it out in time for launch, but Nintendo is now making good on its earlier promise to get it out quickly The free app is now confirmed for a December 20, 2012 release in North America, a date referred to in most circles as "tomorrow."

TVii adds a second screen element to your channel-swapping experience, building on the Wii U GamePad's existing universal remote features. Users will be able to pair up the tablet controller with their cable service and any other content delivery service (a la Hulu Plus) as well as access secondary content such as movie info or sports stats. TVii also features built-in social hooks, alloing users to access Miiverse, Twitter, and the like.

The TVii app will be completely free to download when it launches tomorrow in the United States and Canada, supporting "cable and satellite providers in both regions as well as direct integration with Amazon Instant Video and Hulu Plus subscriptions in the United States," according to the press release. Netflix and TiVo support is expected to be added in early 2013 (again, in the U.S.).

System of a Down frontman Serj Tankian is composing the score for Morning Star, the debut mobile first-person shooter from newcomer studio Industrial Toys. The developer's noteworthy claim to fame for you G4 readers is co-founder Alex Seropian, also the co-founder of Bungie and one of the creators of the Halo franchise.

Seropian and fellow founder Tim Harris, whose former studio Seven Lights is behind a Flash-based online strategy game called The Continuum, are shooting to launch Morning Star as an iOS exclusive in spring 2013. Tankian previously worked on the music for 2007's John Woo-produced third-person shooter, Stranglehold.

Fans of Tankian's music can get a taste of what he's coming up with for Morning Star in the newly released trailer up top.